Oklahoma basketball: OU newcomer Grant Sherfield earns Big 12 preseason honor

Oklahoma basketball senior Grant Sherfield, a transfer from Nevada, is the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.

Sherfield is one of eight newcomers, including four transfers, to join the Sooner men’s basketball roster this season. The 6-foot, 2-inch senior guard played the past two seasons at Nevada. His junior year last season he led the team averaging 19.1 points a game along with 4.2 rebounds. He led the Mountain West Conference averaging 6.3 assists per game and was an All-Mountain West Third-Team selection.

The Ft. Worth, Texas, native is the first Oklahoma men’s player since Amath M’Baye in 2012-13 to be selected as Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

Prior to last season, Sherfield was voted the Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year and named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team.

This will be the second conference in which Sherfield has been recognized as a Newcomer of the Year. In the shortened 2020-21 season, he was the All-Mountain West Newcomer of the Year and was voted to the All-Mountain West First Team.

In addition to Sherfield’s recognition, super senior Tanner Groves is a Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection. The 6-foot, 10-inch forward/center is Oklahoma’s leading returning scorer from last season. Groves, who is in his second season for the Sooners, is the team’s leading returning scorer. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds a game last season.

Groves something about newcomer accolades himself. Three times last season he was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.

Oklahoma will open the 2022-23 season on Monday, Nov. 7 at home against Sam Houston.